Pipe coupling



Sept. 18, 1945. .NEWELL 2,385,156

PIPE COUPLING Filed Nov. 2, 1943 '25 24 r 2 29 25 26 20- FLj.2.-

IN VENTOR e0 eKNeweLL 611 M ATTORNEY i BY Patented Sept. 18, 1945 l,

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PIPE COUPLING George K. Nowell, near Pitcairn, Pa., assignor to The Westinghouse Air Brake-Company, Wii-' met-ding, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application November 2, 1943, Serial No. 503,683

4 Claims. (a. 285-466) 1 invention relates to improvements in a times because of the prevalent use of thinner-' fluid-tight coupling for smooth pipe and more walled metallic pipes and pipes formed of relaparticularly to' the type employing a yieldable tively softer plastic materials than heretofore, packing. This typeroi' coupling: is characterized s most of which are more easily distorted or broken. by the use oi'areceptacle arranged receive a 5 An object of this invention is thereiore,.to eith-w n dpip "surrounded by an annular feet a fluid-tight coupling with very little compacking carried in o, sleeve which cooperates with pression force.

the receptacle, usually by screw-threaded engage- An object oi the inventionis to provide a novel ment, to compress the packing'in a-direction-ion -f pipe coupling of the type having packing made gitudinal of the pipe. 1 f 1,0 of rubber or-other relativelysoft material which A serious objection to couplings or, will be iree v of the above objectionablefeatures particularly those of simple'desisn. lithatlthef pipe'is liable to be distorted at'or inearits-fend: when a fluid-tight connectionds eflectedy Inns-J. signs where a cone-shapedjiportionisiiemployed 1 r to insurea tlghtseal, the endofthelpipe-rnay be; flared by tightening the coupling so that. when the coupling elements are unscrewed ..;to; disassemble or open the coupling, it will beimpossible to remove the couplingelementcarliedlby' tl'i pipe without straightening Ithe flared; endloi the pipe or otherwise injuring either thepipeiorithe coupling elements sofmuch that it .is vdiilicult t again obtain a fluid-tight coupling-' upon'" reas' v v 11 I r 1 To attainithese objects the improved coupling In pipe couplings of the type comprising ex .e p qyasa packlnajfiln the form 01 8- tube of a pansible packing made or rubb'eror other rela-f pl a e at rial c as rubber r tively soft material, it has been observedthat thelike'end lf net mb jd t e and n d where the packing is forced into tight engage- .theretb ahe ieelzm l e bearing me h ment with a metal surface and'is moved along coils of whichfl t l8u us t0 e Outer Surf ce this surface when the coupling is being tightened, the P ng. Thusthe du b y and Stiffness small particles of the packing are rolled up or of metal is combined with the K811161103? torn away and as a consequence, excessive comto Obtain s-w s e f and ypressive force is liable to be exerted on the pack- Sealing P p p nsing in order to obtain a fluid tight seal and when In the accompanying n 8. 1 ll t ates and jwhich will eflect a fluid, tight Joint without pack.in gsuillciently to damage the pipe or pipes connected, 7 1

Anotherfiobjectjis to provide a flexible pipe coupling'which permits a limited amount of pipe movement in a .radial direction and which will tend; to suppress periodic pipe vibrations and the localizing ofbending moments to a point in the ipe near the coupling, 7 n 1 Still another-object isgto provide a pipe couplingfofsuch ajsiniple design as can be economisally manufactured.

havingto increase' the-vcompressiveiorce of the this occurs that portion of th pipe which is a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment gaged by the packing is in danger of being dis- Of the invention and Fig, 2 illustrates a similar torted inwardly, as a result of the radial force view of another embodiment exerted by the packing. As a consequence the In there is illustrated one form of the no capacity at t point may be seriously 40 improved coupling for connecting a smoothduced below that of the rest of the pipe. In Walled pipe to a y which is a anged to readdition, the pipe at this point may be caused ceive the externally screw-threaded end of a pipe t assume permanent t having a smaller 1 formed of metal such as iron. Around the end eter than the rest of the pipe. This set may neces- Portion D pe e a d by e e e ence sitate more screwing up and frequent tightenings numeral I there is mounted a packing 2 carried to maintain a fluid-tight connection until finally n a ecess 3 fo ed in a sleeve member which such a, con ectio c no lo b effected, sleeve member 4 encircles the packing and the Another fault is found in installations where p p a d extends into t r s 5 f a r ptacl the pipe is subjected to sustained vibrations. 6, a d w h, wit n th rec ss 5, has scr w- With the pipe held rigidly in the coupling, a threaded engagement with the receptacle. bending moment develops about a particular The sleeve member 4 is provided, at the leftpoint in the pipe near the coupling; The repeated hand end, as viewed in Fig. l. with a centrally bending at this one particular point finally causes located axial bore 1 which opens into the recess the pipe to break at this point. r 3. At the juncture of the bore 1 and the recess These faults have been aggravated in recent 3 there is provided an interior annular angular seat 8 sloping radially outwardly from the bore to the wall of the recess 3 for engagement with the end 15 of the packing 2.

Externally, the left-hand end of the sleeve member 4 is in the form of a nut to provide a grip for a wrench or other suitable tool. The right hand end of the outer surface of the sleeve member 4 is provided withexternal threads 9 for cooperative engagement with corresponding internal threads of the receptacle 6.

Extemall'y, the left hand end portion of the receptacle 6, as illustrated in Fig. l, is made in the form or a nut for engagement by a wrench or other suitable tool.

The right hand end of the receptacle 6 provides an externally threaded tapered projection H for screw-threaded connection with a member of a fixed body, not shown. A bore l2 extends longitudinally through the receptacle 6 and is open to the recess 5. A shoulder i3 which the free end of the pipe I may abut is provided in the bore i2 at a point to the right of the juncture of the bore with the recess ll. At this juncture the wall oi. the bore l2 slopes outwardly to present an interior annular angular seat l4 for engaging the right hand end it of the packing 2.

It should here be mentioned that the space between the outer wall of the pipe I and the wall of the bore 1 or the sleeve member 4 and also the space between the pipe and the wall of bore l2 to the left of shoulder IS in receptacle 6 are greater than that ordinarily necessary to facilitate assembling. This space will permit limited radial displacement of the pipe in the coupling even after tightening, as will appear later.-

The packing 2 is formed of a pliant and resilient material such as rubber to encircle the pipe I near its end and to fit snugly into the recess 3 oi the sleeve member 4 and to extend into recess 5 of the receptacle 8 and is provided with bevelled ends l5 and I! which engage with the corresponding bevelled seats 8 and ll of the sleeve member 4 and the receptacle 6, respectively. The packing is in the form of a hollow cylinder with its outside diameter slightly less than that of the recess 3 and its inside diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the pipe I.

-The packing also comprises a helical metallic bearing member I! which is imbedded in the rubber of the packing and which is preferably tangent to the outer periphery of the packing. The bearing member I! is preferably wound in the direction of a left-hand screw of round metal wire such as bronze so that any twisting force to the right which may be exerted on the packing 2, as

in tightening, will tend to unwind the coils of the helix thereby insuring against any bending of the coil around and binding on the pipe. 7

It should be pointed out that the bearing sur faces are mainly metal and hence the necessary rubbing during tightening takes place chiefly be- (all tween metal surfaces so that the rubber is protected from rolling or tearing.

In assembling the coupling illustrated in Fig. l, the sleeve member 4 and packing 2 are passed over the end of the pipe I. The end of the pipe I is now manually held against the shoulder .32 while the sleeve member 4 is rotated so as to screw into the receptacle 6. The sleeve member as it is being rotated shifts the packing 2 toward the right until the end l8 thereof engages the seat l4 of the receptacle. The ends I! and it are now in engagement with their respective seating surfaces Band id, so that further advancement of the sleeve member 5 into the receptacle 6 causes a compression force to be exerted on the packing in a longitudinal direction. In response to this force, the rubber wll flow radially inwardly against the pipe to efiect a leak-free rubber seal thereon. At the same time, both the metal and the rubber will exert a force radially outwardly against the walls of the recess 3 and the seat I4 to seal tightly thereto.

Thus, it will be seen that the rubber of the packing forms the seal and the metallic member, by expanding in response to longitudinal compression 'of the packing as a whole, tightly engages the metal surfaces of recess 3 and seat l4. so that a tight metal to metal contact is attained to provide strength against separation. There will, however, be enough resiliency after tightening to permit limited radial movement of the pipe without detracting from the effectiveness of the coupling.

In Fig. 2 there is illustrated a modified form of the improved packing used in a different design of fitting for coupling a smooth-wall pipe to a body. Around the end portion of a pipe designated by the reference numeral 2| there is mounted a packing 22 carried in a recess 23 formed in a sleeve member 24.. The packing 22 extends into a recess 25 formed in a body 20 of which only a portion is illustrated and which has screw-threaded engagement with the sleeve member 24.

The sleeve member 24 is provided, at the lefthand end as viewed in Fig. l, with a centrally located axial bore 21 which opens into the recess 23. At the juncture of the bore 2'! and the recess 23 there is provided an interior cup-shaped seat 28 flaring radially outwardly from the bore to the wall oi the recess 23 for engagement with the left half of the packing 22. The right-hand end of the recess 23 is provided with internal threads 29 for cooperative engagement with corresponding external threads of the body 20.

Externally, the left-hand end of the sleeve member 24 is in the form of a nut to provide a grip for a wrench.

Externally, the left hand end 26 of the body 20, as illustrated in Fig. 2, is externally threaded for cooperative engagement with the threaded portion 2% of the sleeve member 24. A bore 32 extends longitudinally from that portion of the body 20 not shown opening into the recess 25. A shoulder 33 which the free end of the pipe 2i may abut is provided at a point to the right of the juncture of the bore 32 with the recess 25. From this juncture the wall 01' the recess 25 flares outwardly to form a cup-shaped seat 34 for the right-hand end oi the packing 22.

The packing 22 of Fig. 2 diflers from packing 2 illustrated in Fig. 1 only in the contour oi the outer periphery. It is preferably formed of rubher in a tube, the outer surface'of which is shaped to correspond to the cup-shapedseats 28 and 34 of the sleeve member 24 and the body 20, respectively. The packing 22 also comprises a helical metallic bearing member 31 which is imbedded in the rubber of the packing and which is preferably wound in the direction of a left-hand screw of round bronze wire to form a helix.

In assembling the coupling illustrated in Fig, 2, the sleeve member 24 and the packing 22 are passed over the end of the pipe 2|. The end of the pipe 2i is held manually a. iinst the shoulder 33 while the sleeve member 24 is rotated so as to screw onto the portion 28 c. the body 24. The sleeve member 24 as it is being rotated, shifts the packing 22 toward the right until the right claim as new and desire to secure by letters Patcut, is:

1. In a coupling for a fluid conducting pipe, a receptacle for said pipe, an annular packing encircling the end portion of said pipe, a sleeve encircling said packing on said pipe and cooperating with said receptacle to exert a pressure on said pliant material having imbedded in the outer surface thereof metallicbearing means inthe form of a left-hand helix for contact with, at least the interior surface of said sleeve.

2. In a coupling for a fluid conducting pipe, a,

receptacle for said pipe, an annular packing encircling the end portion of said pipe, a sleeve encircling said packing on said pipe and cooperating with said receptacle to exert a pressure on said packing, said packing comprising an annulus of pliant material having imbedded in'the outer surface thereof and bonded thereto a metallic bearing member in the form of a helix for contact with the interior surfaces of said receptacle and sleeve.

packing, n said packing comprising an annulus of 3. In a'coupling for a fluid conducting pipe, a receptacle for said pipe, an annular packing encircling the end portion of said pipe, a sleeve oncircling said packing and cooperating with said receptacle to expand said packing radially to effect a fluid-tight communication between said pipe and said receptacle, said packing comprising a helical spring for contact with the interior surfaces of said receptacle and said sleeve the main coils of which are substantially larger in diameter than is that of the pipe and the end coils 0i.which have an inside diameter approximately the same as the outside diameter of the pipe and also com prising an annulus of pliant material disposed within said spring and in the longitudinal spaces between the coils of said spring and bonded thereto.

4. A packing for a pipe coupling, said packing being of the type which is constructed to be interposed between two coupling elements of a pipe coupling and which is expansible in response to longitudinal movement of at least one of said elements relative to'the others for effecting a fluid tight seal between a pipe and said elements, and comprising an annular member of relatively soft resilient material for encircling the pipe, and bearing means imbedded in the outer surface of said soft material and made or harder material than said soft material for sliding contact with the coupling elements.

GEORGE K. NEWELL. 

